It has been a while since I have done a post. As Jamie reported we sold the boat in January in Anacortes Wa to a very nice family. It was with very mixed emotions that we said good bye to our beloved Independence. We had an incredible journey with her that took us through some very challenging times, whether it be stuck in Honduras during COVID or having the anchor drag during a storm in the middle of the night in the Bahamas.

Having a boat like Independence is not the best choice for the San Francisco Bay Area. Independence was meant to cruise, explore and see North America. We now need a boat that can explore the SF Bay and Delta but before we do that we are going on another big adventure, more on that in the next post.

Today’s post is about the one thing that I hated about owning Independence. When we arrived in the Bay Area we had plans of staying for a few months and then heading north to the San Juan islands and Alaska. After arriving in the Bay Area my Mom soon realized she had lung cancer. She had already fought off and conquered one form of cancer and she did not want to go through more chemo, radiation and possibly surgery. Unfortunately she lost much of her will to fight after being locked up in a retirement home in Marin County during COVID. She succumbed to the cancer in April of 2023. I handled her estate and was handling her health care decisions along with my sister, a former nurse.

Needless to say we canceled our plans to travel north. In November of 2023 I contacted the Marin County Assessor to inquire why I had not received a Property Tax Assessment for Independence. That day they emailed me a form which I filled out and emailed back that very day. In February of 2024 I received a bill from the County for an assessment that was over 50% more than what we paid for the boat 5 years earlier! We paid $1,575,000 for the used boat and they had a “Full Assessed Value” of $2,387,000 which included a 10% penalty. In regard to the penalty nowhere in their website did it say that it was my responsibility to inform them, the exact opposite: “We obtain the information from the USCG, the Ca. DMV and Marina Harbormasters”. The $2,387,000 was multiplied by 1% to arrive at “Basic tax of $23,870, on top of that they added $1,723.36 for School Bonds, $494 for Health Bonds and interest of $586.96.

Needless to say I was shocked, I expected to pay around $15,000. Remember, we traveled over 15,000 miles, visited 6 countries, and 22 states, what boat appreciates after that kind of use?!?

I pleaded my case and they lowered the assessed value by $200,000 but the interest more than doubled because the new bill was sent later and is computed when the bill is printed. I pleaded some more and told the Jr. Assessor that you are going to force me to sell my boat, his response “I don’t blame you”.

I continued my pleading, at the Jr. Assessor’s suggestion I had a Survey done, $1,400 later he said you filed an Appeal and the Sr. Assessor said we will wait for the hearing. I called the Sr. Assessor and he bragged to me “I’ve never lost a case”. I filed Appeals for my 2023 Assessment and my 2024 Assessment.

The Hearing for my 2024 Assessment happened on August 15th of this year. I paid an extra $250 for what they call “Finding of Fact”, which means I receive a letter describing the reasons that the Appeal Board came up with their verdict. As I type today that hearing was almost 3 months ago, I still have not heard a word from the Appeals Board. I spent weeks preparing for the hearing and I believe I presented irrefutable evidence that they overvalued my boat.

What shocked me in doing my research was that the County adds Sales Tax to the value of the boat every year at the guidance of the California State Board of Equalization, the BOE. They base that on a court case, *Xerox vs Orange County in 1977. In that case, Xerox argued that sales tax should not be added to the monthly cost of leasing a copier. Orange County argued that we have to get the sales tax from someone or everybody would just lease items. The Court agreed and stated another case where the California Supreme Court ruled: “that the taxpayer consumer who owns his equipment will pay the same tax on identical equipment as the taxpayer who leases the equipment to the ultimate consumer.” Makes complete sense in that case. I argued, in my hearing, that by adding sales tax to the valuation it is making me pay more in taxes than if I leased the boat! Their form of taxation is against the State Constitution that limits Personal Property Taxes to 1% and the California Supreme Court rules that Personal Property should be assessed at what it can be sold for on the lien date (Jan 1).

My hearing for my 2023 Assessment is scheduled for mid-December. This will be interesting because I have not received a ruling for my 2024 assessment therefore, I will be stating much of my case again to the same Assessment Appeals Board. I will also be arguing against the addition of a penalty. Stay tuned!

Below is a link to a 7 minute YouTube video that has more details:

https://youtu.be/H33C_VwpkMk